In the original dustsheet. Navy cloth binding with gilt title on the spine.

• F.B.A. provides an in-depth photographic presentation of this item to stimulate your feeling and touch. More traditional book descriptions are immediately available.

• THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

• SHORTLISTED FOR SPORTS AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR AT THE 2020 TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS.

• BEN STOKES: WINNER OF THE 2019 BBC SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR AWARD

• ‘He is the Special One, and I intend to call him that for the rest of his career’ Sir Ian Botham, Daily Telegraph

• ‘There are not enough superlatives to describe Ben Stokes’ Nasser Hussain, Daily Mail

• ‘The undisputed hero of English cricket’ The Times

Early evening on Sunday 14th July 2019. Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. Something unprecedented had just happened: England had won the Cricket World Cup for the very first time since the tournament’s inception in 1975. At the epicenter of England’s historic triumph was Ben Stokes, the talismanic all-rounder with an insatiable appetite for The Big Occasion. He contributed a critical 84 runs off 98 balls when England batted, a seemingly nerveless innings of discipline and maturity. Thrillingly, it was enough to tie the scores at 241 runs each, so the match reverted to a Super Over – just six balls for each side to bat in the ultimate in sporting sudden-death. Stokes and Jos Buttler saw England to 15 runs off their over. When it was finally confirmed that Martin Guptill had been run out off the very last ball of New Zealand’s Super Over with the scores level once again, England had astonishingly won on the boundary count-back, and the nation could finally breathe again.

Early evening on Sunday 25th August 2019. A sun-drenched Headingley in Leeds. Having been bowled out for just 67 earlier in the Third Test, England were facing the prospect of failing to regain the Ashes. In their second innings England were still 73 runs short of victory with a solitary wicket remaining. Australia were near certainties to retain the Ashes there and then. Cue one of the most amazing innings ever witnessed as Ben Stokes thrashed the Australian bowlers to all corners of the ground, in the process scoring 135 not out, driving England to a barely-believable one-wicket victory, and keeping the series very much alive. The nation took another breath.

On Fire is Ben Stokes’ brand new book, and in it he tells the story of England’s electrifying first ever Cricket World Cup triumph, as well as this summer’s momentous Ashes Test series. It is the ultimate insider’s account of the most nerve-shredding but riveting three-and-a-half months in English cricket history.

Review: Ben Stokes’ book provides a welcome opportunity to revisit England’s World Cup win in 2019 and the drawn Ashes test series. The text is not especially revelatory but is, nevertheless, an enjoyable read. Unlike some other cricketers’ books, it is possible to read this and retain an admiration for his sporting talents and his personal qualities.

     Stokes raising his bat after winning the third Test against Australia

Benjamin Andrew Stokes OBE (born 4 June 1991) is an English international cricketer who is the captain of the England Test team and plays for the England team in ODIs & T20Is. In domestic cricket, he represents Durham and has played in multiple Twenty20 leagues around the world. He was part of the England team that won the 2019 Cricket World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup.

Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, Stokes moved to England as a child. He made his T20I debut in 2011, his Test debut in 2013, and played for England’s One Day International (ODI) team from 2011 before retiring from the format in July 2022. He was part of the England team that won the 2019 Cricket World Cup, top-scoring in England’s innings in the final before batting in the tied Super Over, winning the Man of the Match award. He was named the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 2019, 2020 and 2023, and won the ICC Award for Best Men’s Cricketer and BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award in 2019. He was appointed captain of England’s Test team in April 2022. He was part of the England team that won the 2022 T20 World Cup, top-scoring in the final.

An all-rounder, Stokes is a left-handed middle-order batsman and right-arm fast bowler. He holds the Test world record for most runs in an innings at number six, scoring 258 against South Africa during England’s 2015–16 tour. In the same Test, he and Jonny Bairstow set the world record for highest sixth-wicket stand in Tests, at 399. In February 2023, he set a new record for the total number of sixes hit in a Test career, surpassing the previous tally of 107 set by his coach at the time, Brendon McCullum.